BOWLING GREEN, Florida - Clairey Lin of Palos Verdes Estates, California, leads the Ninja Invitational hosted by Janet Xiyu Lin after firing a 6-under-par 67 in the second round.
The 2025 event features 36 juniors ranked inside the top 100 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The 72-player field includes nine Rolex Junior All-Americans, representatives from five countries and 16 players from Florida. In addition, 21 competitors have already committed to play college golf.
Lin opened on the par-5 No. 1 and picked up early birdies at Nos. 4 and 6. She caught fire on the back nine with five more birdies, closing at 6-under for the day and 9-under through 36 holes.
A 2024 Rolex Junior All-American and 2025 Wyndham Cup West team member, Lin is ranked No. 8 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings with six AJGA victories. The field’s highest-ranked player, she will look to capture her seventh title and first Invitational win tomorrow.
"I really like this course because it’s so gettable. Today, a few more putts dropped, I stayed patient and things worked out for me."
Iris Lee of Orlando, Florida, is one shot back at 8-under, followed by Vidhi Lakhawala of Kendall Park, New Jersey, at 7-under.
Lee opened on the par-5 No. 1 and quickly birdied the par-4 No. 2, the day’s toughest hole. She stayed steady the rest of the way, adding three more birdies and pars on every other hole.
The youngest player in the field at 12, Lee is ranked No. 50 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. A 2025 Junior All-Star Team member, she has already earned titles at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the AJGA Junior All-Star presented by Visit Tallahassee.
Lakhawala got off to a fast start on the par-5 No. 1, making birdie on her first two holes. She added three more birdies on the front nine to turn at 7-under, then steadied her back nine with pars on every hole.
The 2026 graduate is committed to Wake Forest University. Ranked No. 17 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, she was a member of the 2025 Wyndham Cup East Team. With two AJGA Open victories, she now chases her first Invitational title.
About the Course
Streamsong Black, designed by renowned architect Gil Hanse, is a bold and expansive Par-73 championship layout that has quickly earned national acclaim. Named Golf Digest’s Best New Golf Course of the Year in 2018, it currently ranks No. 33 on Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses (2025) and No. 31 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play (2025). Known for its massive greens—the largest in the country—Streamsong Black challenges players with creative contours, rolling elevation changes, and dramatic sand ridges reminiscent of Australia’s famed Sand Belt Region. The course has become a familiar stage for elite junior golf, marking the AJGA’s fifth event at Streamsong Black and the third time it has hosted the AJGA Girls Invitational, now known as the Ninja Invitational hosted by Janet Xiyu Lin.
About Janet Xiyu Lin
Janet Xiyu Lin has emerged as one of the most accomplished players in women’s golf, with 29 career top-10s and 85 top-25 finishes. Turning professional in 2011, she quickly made her mark on the CLPGA and LET before joining the LPGA Tour, where she has been a consistent contender for over a decade. Lin has represented China in three Olympic Games, finishing T4 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, T9 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and capturing a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the second Chinese woman to earn an Olympic medal in golf. She has also been a key contributor on Team China at the International Crown in 2016 and 2023. Known for her consistency, competitiveness, and ability to perform on the world stage, Lin continues to be a trailblazer for Chinese golf and an inspiration to aspiring players worldwide.
Schedule
Final round tee times will run from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 12 on Monday, September 1.
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